The present invention relates to point of sale equipment and more specifically to system and method of maintaining a bar code reader.
Bar code readers are well known for their usefulness in retail checkout and inventory control. They are typically connected to a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, along with other peripherals.
Maintenance of bar code readers typically requires that a technician be sent to examine the bar code readers. Some maintenance might include just a software upgrade. Some upgrades are more difficult than others for the technician, particularly if the bar code reader and the POS terminal are manufactured by different companies. Also, visiting each bar code reader to obtain status information and to perform routing software upgrades is costly.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method of accessing the bar code reader that does not require access to or knowledge of POS terminals.